• 28 May 2014

When our family moved to Seattle three and a half years ago, I attempted my usual chocolate cookie standby only to find that it turned out completely different in my new location. Unrecognizable even. The cookie's identify crisis was likely due to the change in elevation and air moisture--which made sense--but was nonetheless disappointing. To where would I turn on a bad day without a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe on hand? As a remedy to this unfortunate predicament, I then spent the new few years trying to revamp the recipe to my liking (this part my family and friends enjoyed a lot). I am not exaggerating when I say I've modified this recipe probably 20 times (and may continue to do so...who knows?!), as I tried to create what I felt was the perfect cookie.

I am aware of the strong opinions out there regarding chocolate chip cookies. Some people like them soft, others crispy. Some like them puffy, and others like them more flat. Some like them with milk chocolate, and others enjoy them with dark chocolate. And last, some like them only dipped in milk and others prefer the cookie dough in it's glorious, raw state. It's all a matter of personal preference, of course, which keeps us all on constant lookout for the perfect cookie.

My version uses a good, semisweet chocolate; Guittard and Ghirardelli create fantastic chips and usually one of these brands is available at every standard grocery store. This recipe calls for eleven ounces of chips, which leaves a few left in the bag to munch on or to pawn off on your toddler (an ideal scenario if your child is like mine and begs for chocolate chips constantly). The easiest way to measure eleven ounces is to use a digital kitchen scale. They are an incredibly useful addition to every kitchen and cost around ten dollars. Last, these cookies are not overly sweet and have a kick of French gray sea salt there at the end. Good stuff, my friends. I hope you love them like we do!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Cream on medium high speed until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time. Once mixed in, turn off the mixer and attend to the dry ingredients.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and gray sea salt. With the mixer on medium, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture until fully incorporated. Pour in the chocolate chips, with the mixer still on (lazy, I know), for about thirty seconds. Turn off mixer.

Roll one inch balls of cookie dough and place them a couple of inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes sharp and then pull the cookie sheet out of the oven. Allow the cookies to sit for a few minutes before using a spatula to place them on a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle a little fine gray sea salt atop the cookies and allow them to continue cooling for an additional 5 minutes. Then...enjoy!

you know me too well, my friend! i need this recipe in my repertoire as i, too, have been trying to perfect my recipe in seattle! this looks great. i have a similar one but it uses baking powder too (makes them a little puffier). i’m totally going to try these! thanks!xo